Story of Dekaron
= The World of Dekaron = CHAPTER 1 - BIRTH OF TRIESTE In the beginning, there was Chaos and there was Cosmos. Chaos was the Darkness and Cosmos was the Light. Cosmos established a balance in the universe by making Space, while Chaos challenged stability by calling in Time. It was the collision of Chaos and Cosmos that ultimately resulted in continuous creation - Space and Time. It was, then, from within a whirling vortex of creative energy and the intersection of Space and Time that the world was born - Trieste the Immortal Land. But when the forces that had gathered and opposed one another had formed the Land, they stopped. A new stability seemed to descend upon the universe, and with Trieste the cycle of mad creation simply ended. CHAPTER 2 -WORLD OF TWO MOONS AT NIGHT Trieste is the planet of two moons. Miseria, the first moon, is the Moon of Misfortune. Ricchez, the second moon, is the Moon of Prosperity. The day on Trieste is 28 hours long and the period of revolution is 400 miles. (For those Earthlings reading this, that is somewhat larger than your planet.) Miseria and Ricchez orbit Trieste a different speeds, and so they, too, have cycles. On days when Miseria occludes (covers over) Ricchez, it is said that misfortune rules. Things favor chaos on those days. The bi-lunar cycle is 12 days, and corresponds with the 12 gods of the Incar, which is the predominant religious philosophy of the current human population of Trieste. CHAPTER 3 - UNSEAL THE ABYSS AND UNFORESEEN DESTRUCTION There came a time when humans became the most numerous of Trieste’s inhabitants, and tensions arose with the original gods, who had ruled the land for millennia. Ultimately, the pride of humans and the pride of gods could not coexist without conflict, and war was the result. The humans were clever, and they had mastered some of the gods’ own magic to use against them, but they were no match for the gods alone. It was then, about 200 years ago, that Kalizio Vacshu, known as one of the wisest among the humans, made his most tragic mistake. Kalizio rightly saw that the tide of the battle was going against his kind, and he sought a way to even the odds. His choice was to hold a Ceremony of Unsealing to unleash the creatures of the Abyss, an underworld of monsters that had been sealed by powerful spells and wards to keep them out of the upper lands. At first, this seemed to work, as the creatures of the Abyss, also known as the “Lower Bound” swarmed up and fought the gods, whom they hated more than the humans, providing the victory Kalizio had predicted. Kalizio had always intended to reseal the Abyss once the gods had been vanquished, but he had miscalculated badly. Karon, a demigod in his own right, had no intention of going back into the depths of the Abyss. He turned his minions against the humans as soon as the gods were beaten back, intent on causing misery and destruction and an end to the human dominance of the land. His intention was to kill many humans and enslave the rest. Although Kalizio tried to control Karon, he was not strong enough, for Karon had grown in power since the time of the First Sealing. In an epic battle Kalizio died at Karon’s hand, even as he once again invoked the seals that would send his enemy back to the Great Darkness. Karon was gone, for now, but monsters spawned in the Abyss, remained, and they all but decimated what was left of the human race, already ravaged by years of war and caught unsuspecting by Kalizio’s risky gambit. What remained was but a fraction of the race that had once dominated the land and challenged the gods themselves. This was called the Grand Fall, the Fall of Trieste. CHAPTER 4 - STRUGGLE PLAN FOR SURVIVAL While humans were being killed by the monsters of the Abyss, a group of heroes gathered together to consider the future of their race. Knowing that an outright victory was not possible, they devised a plan to preserve what was left of the human population. They would build a city unlike any ever seen - a city built beneath the steepest slopes of a valley with unmatched natural protection. It was called “Divine Valley”. The heroes knew that the protection of the mountain passes would not alone be sufficient, so they designed a series of confusing mazes and various magic squares that would make it nearly impossible for the monsters of the Lower Bound to pass through unharmed. This city was to be the last refuge of the human race, and its place to begin the recovery, the return to dominance, strength and power. Driven by fear and horror, the survivors erected the fabled city in only a few years of incredible sacrifice. They were able to hold the mountain passes against the rampaging monsters, who lacked a clear plan of attack with their leader once again sealed away. As the human population streamed into the Divine Valley, the monsters turned upon themselves, and a new balance began to take shape in the world. The monsters no longer hunted in hordes, but in smaller, disorganized bands. The people, safe within the new city, called Arcana - the Ark of the Divine Valley - grew strong once again, and their knowledge of weapons and magic also increased. Gradually, they began to regain the lands and beat back the monsters. Eventually, as the human population once again began to thrive in the land of Trieste, the wisest among the humans sealed Arcana - the last refuge of their people - for a time in the future when it might be needed again. CHAPTER 5 - PREPARATION FOR THE FUTURE - DEKARON The time of the resurrection of the human race was not a time of ultimate rejoicing. The threat of Karon and his followers still lived fresh in the minds of the survivors, and they instilled this fear and caution in future generations. It was widely known that the seals that held Karon trapped in the Abyss were temporary, and it was widely believed that Karon would grow in power and one day seek to attack Trieste again. So the humans continued to develop their knowledge and power to defeat any enemy, and called themselves “Dekaron” the resistors and the enemies of Karon and all evil. This is the time of the Dekaron and the struggle against the Abyss.